The Relationship Between Man And Nature In Saul Bellow's Novels

Saul Bellow is one of the representative writers of the 20th century in American literature,and his works concern about nature and the changing progress of the relationship between human and nature.This thesis is dedicated to interpret the relationship between human and nature in The Adventure of Augie March and Henderson The Rain King by the perspective of ecocriticism and reveal difficulties that contemporary people face in connecting to the natural world.These modern people are ruled by anthropocentrism and have the problem of alienation,and some of them start seeking the independent value of nature and exploring the possibility and ways of communicating with nature.This essay points out Bellow's positive attitude toward compensating for imbalance between human and nature in modern society.The relationship between human and nature keeps deepening in two novels,therefore,this essay can be divided into four chapters with progressive structure.Chapter one presents different reasons why Augie and Henderson go into the nature.Modernization and mechanization drive nature away in urban life,so going to nature is the premise of connecting to nature for Augie and Henderson.Aguie tries to get closer to nature because of his idyllic ideal and his love for nature,while Henderson goes to nature just to get rid of his survival crisis that brings them to different positions in merging with nature.This chapter mainly paves the way for next chapter in which analyzes the changing relationship between human and nature.Chapter two outlines the great difficulties Henderson faces in going to nature with domination and pragmatism.But after he gains an in-depth exploration to nature,he begins to regard nature as home rather than a tool for cheering himself.By contrast,Augie has a strong sense for nature and he can see the independent value and order in it.On the other hand,this chapter also points out Augie and Bellow's changing attitude toward specific natural objects-nature as an enemy to a noble opponent.Chapter three interprets the deeper relationship between human and nature presented in Bellow's novels——nature is a revealer as human existence.It points out the revelation of the world is in the wilderness as well as presents the essential rule of the world.Henderson finds the great significance in seeking being rather than becoming from primitive tribes,while Augie moves between city and wilderness and realizes the meaning of simple life.Chapter four analyzes the idea of returning to nature in the end of the stories and points that Augie and Henderson both fail to return to nature,but they are on the way to merging with nature.This chapter also reveals Bellow's positive attitude toward constructing the relationship between human and nature from body and mind.